Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Speak Your Mind

Malala was born into a
Sunni Muslim family in Pakistan's Swat Valley, where she grew up in a house
with two younger brothers, her parents, and two pet chickens. Malala and her
brothers were educated by their father, a poet and school owner. From a very young
age, he saw something special in his daughter, and allowed her to stay up at
night to discuss politics after her brothers had gone to bed.

When Malala was just
eleven years old, she began speaking locally about education rights. The
Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist political movement, was increasing its
military presence in the Swat Valley, and had begun destroying schools for
girls in an effort to keep female students from attaining proper education. For
Malala, the threat of losing her chance for an education was too serious to
accept without standing up for it. So, when her father was approached by the
BBC in search of a girl willing to anonymously submit reports about life under
Taliban occupation, he suggested his own daughter. Despite the possibility of
Taliban reprisals if her identity became known, Malala agreed, and started
submitting her handwritten notes to the BBC.

Shortly after Malala's BBC
blog began, the schools in the region closed for winter vacation. However, no
one was excited, because the Taliban had set forth an edict to ban girls'
education completely. This meant that, once they left, the female students had
no idea when they could return to school. During the coming weeks, Taliban
militants continued blowing up schools to enforce the education ban. And, even
after the ban was publicly lifted, many families continued to keep their
children (boys and girls alike) home from school. Finally, government forces
began clearing the region of Taliban militancy in an effort to avert further
violence.

Throughout all of this,
Malala's blogs continued, attracting growing interest around the world as she
reported openly on what she saw: "It seems that it is only when dozens of
schools have been destroyed and hundreds others closed down that the army
thinks about protecting them. Had they conducted their operations here
properly, this situation would not have arisen." When Malala's identity
became known, her profile rose, and she met world leaders, spoke to
international news sources, and received numerous international youth peace
awards. Unfortunately, this heightened profile also made her a more visible
target.

Threats against Malala's
life from the Taliban, who claimed to be targeting her for promoting
non-religious and westernized education, were published in regional newspapers,
through social media, and even slipped under her door. When Malala showed no
sign of reining in her vocal activism, members of the organization decided to
act. In a secret meeting of the Taliban's leaders, they unanimously agreed to
kill her.

On October 9, 2012, a
Taliban gunman entered the bus that Malala Yousafzai was riding home after taking
exams at school. The masked gunman, after identifying who she was, shot at her,
hitting both Malala and two other girls.

Malala was hit with one
bullet in her left brow, but instead of penetrating the skull, it was deflected
down and lodged in her shoulder. The doctors who treated her stated that the
chances of such a wound from a point-blank gunshot not being fatal were
astronomical. Equally unlikely was the presence of a team of renowned British
medical specialists in Pakistan at the time of the shooting. Brought in to
consult on Malala's condition, they were not optimistic due to swelling in her
brain, and made the decisive call to move Malala to a facility in Birmingham,
England.

Despite all odds, Malala
recovered. She underwent physical therapy and a series of surgeries to repair
skull and nerve damage, ultimately regaining her speech, movement, and, most
critically, coming through the ordeal with no brain damage. Instead of the
Taliban turning her into a martyr, they made her a symbol. She was alive and
still able to speak, which she continues to do, upholding the rights of young
women everywhere to receive proper education. In 2013, at the age of 15, she
was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest individual ever to
receive such an honor. This month, her autobiography, I Am Malala, was
published.

Educators teach students
all about life, but sometimes it takes a student to teach us what life is all
about. Malala does more than speak her mind; she speaks for the rights of women
and children. She speaks for the world. Thank you Malala! We are listening.

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Scott Shickler

About me

Scott is one of the world’s leading experts on youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. The Wall Street Journal referred to him as a serial and parallel entrepreneur due to the number of businesses he started in diverse industries. Collectively his companies have grossed over $37 million with businesses ranging from software to seminars and real estate to restaurants. Shickler is the author or coauthor of 8 books including, The Ultimate Entrepreneur and The 7 Mindsets to Live Your Ultimate Life. Scott also wrote the Boy Scout Merit Badge booklet on entrepreneurship. He has been featured on CNN, ABC & NBC News, and in The New York Times. Shickler is currently the CEO and founder of Excent Corporation – a multi-million dollar education company serving millions of students and educators throughout the world. Scott grew up in New York and now lives in Atlanta with his wife and two sons. He is a graduate of Fordham University and also the cofounder of the Magic Wand Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to empowering youth to live their dreams.